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Manager lets slip, injured Arsenal star set for six months out

It was recently revealed on Arsenal.com that Danny Welbeck had undergone surgery for the knee injury he’s been suffering with for months, but a return date wasn’t given.

England manager Roy Hodgson has seemingly let it slip though, and revealed that the former Manchester United man would be out of action for six months, as reported by the Evening Standard.

The Three Lions boss was obviously concerned that this lengthy layoff would see Welbeck miss the Euro 2016 championship, but Arsenal fans will be more worried about our lack of striking options for the season.

“Well, Welbeck bothers me now,” Hodgson said (via the Standard).

“He has already been out for me since March and for Arsenal since April, so that’s over four months, isn’t it? And now I hear it’s another six months, so I can only hope that Danny recovers a bit quicker and then hits the ground running.

“Daniel [Sturridge] is a bit the same. It’s getting on for a year now [since he played for England]. They are always in my thoughts ­because I think they’re very good players and they did extremely well when they were playing in the national team I was coaching, but I’ve got to make certain that there are a few Vardys and Kanes and Walcotts, because we can’t keep going around talking about the ones who aren’t there.”

Arsenal fans were already outraged at Arsene Wenger’s inactivity in the transfer market, with a world class striker high on the list of priorities for most supporters. The fact that we will now be without Welbeck for the majority of the season compounds Wenger’s error, and the Frenchman could be left regretting his decision.

Few fans would have thought we’d be relying on Welbeck this season, but with Olivier Giroud our only other out and out striker, that was set to be the case.

Once again we’ll be stuck looking to the French forward to lead the line for the entire season, and while he’s showed huge improvement since his arrival, we need far more than just Giroud for the campaign.